he was like a tsunami ( a natural disaster )
by Serendipity's lost
Summary: He looks like Kyoko now, he thinks, or like a very young and orange-haired Sawada Nana. It's distracting. Or, the one where Neo Primo, Sawada Tsunayoshi himself, dies and then wakes to find himself in the wrong body, in the wrong world, in the wrong reality.


He looks like Kyoko now, he thinks, or like a very young and orange-haired Sawada Nana. It's distracting.

_Or, the one where Neo Primo, Sawada Tsunayoshi himself, dies and then wakes to find himself in the wrong body, in the wrong world, in the wrong reality._

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><p>Your name is Nami ( <em>call me Tsuna<em> ) and you are an amalgam of **_contradictions_**.

There is the girl, born and orphaned in a time of _strife _and _fire _and _massacre_, saved by the loyal officer of the law who lost all her convictions and who hopes to repent from her sins by raising as her own the daughters of those killed by her superiors' orders in the crossfire.

And yet, there is also the man,_ the boy_, the leader and the sky, a soul falling from beyond the clouds, from the limbo that exists between life and nothingness,_ falling and falling and falling _into the abyss, into the vacuum sparkled within a millions of worlds, of opportunities, of dimensions, and **reborn **into the wrong _body_ and the wrong _reality_.

Tsuna remembers when he wakes one day, looking with wide eyes at the bed, sheets folded in the way Bellemere likes, and the room, tiny and cosy and shared with his sister, and smells the fresh air, tangerines and also the scent of the rice and the fish they had for dinner yesterday and that the breeze had not carried away yet.

He looks down to his hands, small and delicate and tanned by hours spend playing under the sun, and wonders, half-in-disbelief half-convinced, if he had only been dreaming.

Nojiko calls him from the kitchen and he hurries out, after putting on his dress and comfortable blue sandals, not wanting to miss his share of the meal. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, _Mamma _always said.

Bellemere arrives from her morning workout just as he is finishing his cereal bowl, feet dangling from the chair, and her bright presence brings up his mood instantly. She is his mother, even if he also remembers a sweeter, naive, and far more cheerful one.

Bellemere runs a hand through his orange hair and smiles down at him as she tells Nojiko something he's too distracted to listen to. His mother shines like a warrior goddess, reddish hair held up to ease her vision and cut in a rather shocking style, Mohawk-like, with the bangs cut close to her forehead. He finds, looking at her, that he does not miss Nana all that much.

This mother is _strong_ and _brave_, she is raising them all by herself ( once again he appears to have only one parent figure in his life, but he finds he does not mind this as much as he did in the past ), and Nojiko and he are happy and safe here with her. The dream-fantasy-_memories _feel more than a life-time away.

In the end, it does not matter much what he remembers, the world is a wide and extraordinary place, and nothing of what he dreams about seems to be useful in this strange, incredible place.

The East Blue is an odd place, he finds. It is ruled by the World Government, and something called the Tenryuubito ( that he does not yet understand too well ), and falls under the laws of the Marine. There are islands everywhere and the oceans cover the whole world. There are bandits and pirates and giants and mermaids ( mermaids! _real mermaids!_ ) out there. It is fascinating, and wonderful, and sends a thrill of excitement running through his veins just by thinking about it- this world is exciting and new and he's just _itching _to explore it all.

He's still just a kid, though, so it'd take some time until he's able to do that.

But it's okay. He likes living here in the tangerine fields, near Cocoyasi Village, with his mother and his sister, and playing and exploring and learning all he can.

When he is five he convinces Nojiko to call him Tsuna. By the time he is six Bellemere has also joined the blue-haired girl in this and has stopped giving him dresses. Their clothing is usually second-hand, or fashioned out of outfits Bellemere had when she was younger, and it is no hardship to sew trousers instead of skirts.

When he talks with his mother about how he feels different, how he doesn't think he's really a girl, she had long since decided to trust his judgement and support him in all she could.

In the Village she brags about her daughter and her son, and the housewives shot her offended looks. _No matter,_ she reminds Tsuna with a wide smile forming around a burning cigarette,_ the people who matter won't care, and those who care don't matter._ Gossips and idiots, the lots of them, she assures him.

Nojiko always helps him climb the tallest trees, and ties his shoes for him when they untie after running all afternoon, and calls him tangerine-head when he begins day-dreaming about all the interesting things the world has to offer- she makes sure to help him with any of the big words he has trouble with when they stop by Genzo's office and he lets them read his newspapers and books. Nojiko is also there with him when the other kids make fun of him, of Bellemere, of their poorness and orphan status, and helps him **kick** their asses.

He didn't have a sibling before, so he doesn't know much about being a brother, but he is sure that Nojiko is pretty much _the best_ older sister one can have in the whole universe. She's a genius, he decides, and swears to get better at being a little brother for her sake.

He decides to try harder this time. To be _better_ and _braver_ and _stronger_ much earlier than before. This is a second chance and he isn't going to ruin it. He's not going to let his family down. Not even when the sight of his face, big brown eyes and chubby cheeks and pretty orange hair, brings forth an uneasy dissonance, a feeling of unreality and queasiness in the bottom of the stomach.

He looks like Kyoko, he thinks, or like a very young and orange-haired Sawada Nana. It is distracting.

He doesn't like this new body of his, although he doesn't think he can hate it either. It is not very strong right now, but it is light and nimble and has very fast fingers. He'll grow into it, Bellemere assures him.

Still, he makes sure to follow something like a training regimen everyday, even if it has nothing on what he remembers Reborn's and Lal Mirch's _**hellish **_training being like.

When he is seven everything changes. The late season of tangerines has been bad and they have even _less_ money than usual, and Tsuna catches Bellemere splitting their food into two portions instead of the customary three- _his _mother_ is forgoing her own part and is giving it to them-_ and it is then when he starts stealing from the wealthier people and merchants down in the Village.

Nobody notices at first, his hands are fast and his footsteps are even faster. For once, the memories of that past life help out in some way and prove to not be as useless as he had thought, the money he steals is cleverly hidden on his person, and the wallets are always returned almost-full. He makes sure to take what won't be missed but by the most paranoid.

Nojiko is the first one to find out his secret, but then again, she is the one who knows him the best and it's hard to hide anything from her. She's _scary_ smart. Bellemere wastes no time either, noticing the sudden increase in her funds.

What happens after is not quite a shouting-match, nothing close to what it could have been, but it is close. Nojiko sticks with him and they both yell at Bellemere for lying to them about being on a 'diet'. They are not idiots, after all, and it is quite obvious that their mother has lost a few pounds and has begun smoking even more than usual to stop the hunger. In the end Bellemere finds that she can't stop them, her children are just as stubborn as her, and are not willing to let _their most important person_ starve for their sake.

They are a family, and families protect each other.

No matter _what_, no matter _how_.

**_Always_**.

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><p>Cross-posted to Archive of Our Own!<br>Comments or any review you'd like to send are very welcome!


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